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Is the aforementioned contract Islamically valid despite the intention of a legitimate contract?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Marriage requires the presence of an offer (ijab) and acceptance (qabul). The guardian's statement to the groom, "Do you accept my daughter as your wife?" is not a valid offer, because it is an inquiry and marriage cannot be contracted through it. Similarly, the groom's statement, "I accept," in the present tense and without mentioning marriage, does not validate the contract. Even if he were to say it in the past tense, he must say: "I accept her marriage," or "her wedding," or "the marriage," or "the wedding," or "I consent to her marriage." Therefore, the contract must be re-contracted with a valid wording.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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